European Union Deprives Belarusian Regime Of €112 Million Per Year

One more sanction blow.

The EU stops buying furniture from Belarus. Thus, Minsk will lose €112 million of expected revenue for the year, reports the Belarusian Investigative Centre, citing Earthsight.

The decision, published at the end of June, in particular prohibits the import of furniture falling under customs codes 9401 and 9403, which are included in the expanded list of goods that allow Belarus to diversify its sources of revenue, thus making its participation in the Russian aggression against Ukraine possible.

The move suspends EU purchases of Belarusian wooden furniture worth more than 112 million euros a year. In recent months, Germany and Poland have been the main entry points for these products, followed by Lithuania and Romania.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the EU has imported more than €200 million worth of Belarusian furniture. Poland, Germany and the Netherlands were among the largest importers, writes BRC.

This year, human rights activists, MEPs and former political prisoners of Belarus called on the Forest Stewardship Council to investigate how furniture from Belarusian prisons got its approval.

The FSC certificate is a competitive advantage for companies in the EU market. Many consumers prefer FSC labelled products as it guarantees that materials are sourced using sustainable and legal methods.

Despite mass repression, FSC continued to issue certificates to penal colonies in Belarus even in 2020.

The BIC has found eight such penal colonies. They sold furniture and other products made by prisoners, including those convicted on political grounds. Their certificates were revoked only in 2021.

The website of the state enterprise "No. 5" (Ivatsevichy penal colony) still states that they supply furniture to EU countries.

According to the EU resolution, the new ban will not apply until October 2, 2024 for contracts concluded before July 1 of this year.

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